Speaking at the Sons of Anarchy Television Critics Association panel, the series creator said he’s behind on writing episode seven, and “..it could all change. I’ve always had a sense of where I wanted it to go, and I come in each season with a blueprint with the big arcs and mile markers. And I’ve learned over seven seasons the looser I grip that idea the better the seasons are. And this season isn’t any different. I came in with how I wanted the season to end … but things change. It’s always been heading in the same direction, but the way I’m getting there continues to change.”

Sutter also spoke of the series’ organic nature, saying he doesn’t want the final season to feel different from the rest; the body count will be “about average” and there won’t be a Sopranos-like fade to black. Season 7 will pick up only ten days after the season 6 finale events, with Jax on a single-minded mission. Season 6 SPOILERS AHEAD, if you’re not caught up, please back out now…Spoilers: Of his character, Charlie Hunnam says: “Jax is in a very schizophrenic state. He’s obviously very sad and vulnerable and kind of broken, but there’s a huge amount of vengeance and anger in his heart.” Sutter added that avenging Tara’s death is Jax’s mission this season. And of course that brings us to mommy dearest; as usual, Gemma’s got a secret (carving fork, anyone?), and if I can’t imagine Jax *not* discovering what she did — certainly that would be the least satisfying series ending.

One other possibly related tidbit dropped by both Hunnam and Kim Coates (Tig), is that Tig will have “a very exciting romance,” which probably means one of two things: a) Gemma, or b) Venus. And SPOILER…a certain guest star (Walton Goggins) will be making his return:

Finally, Sutter indicated there’s still a chance he’ll do a one-season Sons of Anarchy prequel about the club’s early days. “If I do a prequel, it will probably be a one-off, maybe a 10 episodes kind of a thing. I don’t think it’s a full-blown, five-season series.”